HTC’s next flagship, codenamed “M7”, will likely be available in both white and black, and people may have gotten a peek at the white variant when HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou, whipped out his slick unknown white phone at an HTC event.

Press cameras were not able to get a close look at what Chou was actually holding up as he snapped a few pictures with his device, but from the looks of it, the device in Chou’s hands was most likely a white M7.

According to the rumored specs, the M7 is a 4.7-inch 1080p device, which boasts a quad-core processor (we’re guessing a Snapdragon), 2GB of RAM, 32 GB of ROM, a 12MP rear camera, a 2300mAh battery, and Android Jelly Bean with HTC’s Sense UI 5.0 as the cherry on top. All the major carriers, except T-Mobile, are expected to carry HTC’s next flagship.

The Taiwan-based handset maker has fallen behind in the smartphone race as of late, but perhaps the M7, along with its refreshed Sense UI 5.0, will help HTC regain the lost grounds. People are expecting HTC to unveil the M7 (most likely a “One” device when it’s all said and done) at an NYC event on February 19. Samsung, HTC’s ultimate rival in the Android handset market, will probably follow with the Galaxy S IV, but an announcement date for the next Galaxy flagship probably won’t come around until mid-2013.